While it seems like the data center public comment invitations and sessions may never end, Macon County and incorporated towns are all closing in on tighter regulations restricting data center development.
On Thursday, the Macon County planning board unanimously recommended to further tighten language in the ordinance regulating high-impact land uses for data centers. The move would expand the definitions used to cover a wider array of data center types and related facilities.
The new language would amend Section 157.05(B) to read: Cryptocurrency Mining, Data Centers, and Server-Based Facilities: The use of land, buildings, or structures for cryptocurrency mining, data processing, cloud computing, data storage, server housing, colocation services, artificial intelligence computing, or similar server-based operations utilizing specialized computer equipment. Such uses include facilities that may operate continuously, involve significant electrical demand, water usage, cooling infrastructure, backup power generation, or the generation of sustained ambient noise from servers, cooling equipment, and related systems.
The recommendation would restrict operating hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, which could drive away developers since most data centers require continuous operations around the clock.
County attorney Eric Ridenour explained that an outright ban on all data centers could not prevail in a legal challenge, but carefully crafted regulations could withstand scrutiny by the courts.
More public input
While the recent Town of Franklin debate on data centers engendered a large public outpouring in July, Thursday’s meeting was sparsely attended with only two speakers during the public comment period.
One speaker asked if any of the elected or appointed officials, like the planning board and the county commissioners, have signed a non-disclosure agreement with or have been approached by any technology company or real estate company, or their representatives, regarding putting any type of tech facility in Macon County, including, but not limited, to data centers or status centers.
Marc Hehn responded he had in the past worked on a data center issue and had signed a NDA. That experience helped him understand the county was not attractive to developers for data centers because of inadequate sewer systems and transport networks required to build and facilitate such structures.
The new regulatory language now moves to the Board of Commissioners for a final vote.
Public comment is encouraged during the open comment section of the commissioner’s regular meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting is scheduled at the Macon County Courthouse on Tuesday, August 11.
Commissioner John Shearl, liaison to the planning board, couldn’t predict how his colleagues would vote, but, “We’re going to do everything we can do to stop” data center growth in this area.
Amy Patterson, representing the Town of Highlands, confirmed its plans to proceed with a twelve-month data center moratorium modeled loosely on Franklin’s moratorium.
Patterson recognized the county’s need to tighten regulations but would still like to have time to scrub regulatory language at both the county and town levels to ensure corporate counselors and developers cannot “slip through the cracks”. She indicated Highlands residents are concerned about data center noise, water, and light pollution impacting wildlife and water quality, that would threaten ecotourism and the local economy.
The Highlands Board of Commissioners will hold its own data center public hearing August 20 at 7 p.m. at the Highlands Community Building, 869 N. Fourth Street.
The public can weigh in on the proposal to halt applications in the corporate area of Highlands for the next 12 months while “allowing the Town to study and establish appropriate zoning and permitting requirements for such facilities.”
